It has been over half a year since I last wrote on this blog, and you would be forgiven for wondering, “What gives?” The short answer is that I injured myself rather badly in December, and it took a while before I was up to doing much writing.

However, my digital pen has not been entirely idle. In fact, three writing projects kept me busy: revising my first worldbuilding book, completing the first draft of my second, and publishing Ron Farina’s new book Sacrifice.

My first worldbuilding book, Beyond Kings and Princesses: Governments for Worldbuilders, is one of the things I’m most proud to have written. But I published the book in June of 2020, during the worst days of Covid; and I was also in the middle of law school at the time! By the end of the writing process I was in the mood of “Just get the thing done already!” As a result, there were aspects of the text that I could have made stronger, given time and attention. Additionally, I am less adept a marketer than an author—so it sells a few copies now and again, but not more.

So when my friend Dave Swindle asked if his publishing venture God of the Desert could publish a revised edition, I ultimately said yes. The new edition fixes some infelicities of the prose, adds several more worldbuilding examples, and features a significant expansion of the chapter on selectorate theory. This is the book I should have written the first time around, and I’m very pleased with it. (No idea when it will be published, though! GotD is busy producing several great books, and my turn will come when it comes. Also, we’re changing the name, alas!)

Second, I managed to complete the first draft of my second worldbuilding book, working title “Commerce for Worldbuilders.” Where the first book focused on governments, this one focuses on conflicts in and over the economy (which a reader of this blog over the last couple of years might have guessed). As with my first book, the goal is to give you a small set of powerful tools so that you can build fictional settings with compelling depictions of commerce and the economy, and the struggles that they can inspire. (As usual, most of the work was in deciding what material to cut, and how to arrange the remaining material most effectively.)

It is still just a first draft. There are definitely chapters that need beefing up, and large sections that need rewriting. Still, I think the structure of the book is sound: I managed to organize the material in a way that makes sense, where the later chapters build on the earlier ones and the reader is able to follow along. At least, I think I did! So, no particular timeline on when it will be finished, but the book is coming closer.

Finally, I got to wear my publisher hat. My imprint, Lagrange Books, published Ron Farina’s incredible book Sacrifice: The Final Chapter. Based on hundreds of hours of personal interviews with the families and friends of military servicemembers who were killed in action, it is a searing look at how these remarkable men and women grew up, decided to serve, and affected those around them with their life and death. I worked closely with Ron over many late nights to get the book ready for publication, and in my opinion it is the best book he has written. Don’t miss it!

At some point I’ll start blogging more regularly. (In fact, I think my contract with GotD says that I have to, once the revised edition is published!) Rest assured, I’m not going anywhere.